Things got real Stoopid in Mountain View, CA this summer

Friday, July 14th, Slightly Stoopid brought their annual Summertime tour to Mountain View’s Shoreline Amphitheater. Along for the ride this summer were friends Sublime with Rome, Atmosphere, and The Movement. The California sun was blazing with temps of about 84 degrees, (which really felt more like it was in the mid-90s when you were in the sun). Doors opened early at 4 PM and luckily lines were not bad getting into the venue at Shoreline, most likely due to people still getting off work.

South Carolina reggae rockers, The Movement, got the summertime party started at 5 PM with their hits such as, “Take Me To The Ocean” and “Ways of the World”. Bassist Jason Schmidt had a contagious smile that never left his face for the duration of the set along with keyboardist/guitarist/horn player Matt Goodwin who would hype up the crowd by getting everyone to throw their hands up in the air. During The Movement’s performance of “Break in the Glass” lead singer Josh Swain brought out surprise guest rapper Chali 2na, an original member of Jurassic5 and Ozomatli. Then for the final song of their set, The Movement played “Sounds of Summer” for their grande finale as the Summertime sunshine was just beginning to set.

Next up after a quick break, it was time for Atmosphere, the hip-hop duo from Minneapolis. Rapper Slug came out asking the audience if they were ready to have a good time and were ready to smile. Atmosphere opened with the feel-good song “Okay” followed by “Puppets”.

Slug is a very animated performer and his stage presence was off the charts emitting nothing but good vibes and connecting with the audience.

Atmosphere played all the hits including “Sunshine”, “Yesterday”, “Fuck You Lucy”, and “God Loves Ugly” as well as early tracks like, “God’s Bathroom Floor”. 

Sublime with Rome followed Atmosphere after another short break. By this time the scorching sun was finally setting, things were starting to cool down, and the amphitheater started filling with a hazy smoke as everyone started lighting up for the start of Sublime with Rome’s set. The set ran about an hour and started with Sublime classics such as “April 26th, 1992”, “Doin’ Time”, and “Wrong Way”. Frontman, Rome Ramirez was absolutely on fire. This would be my fourth time seeing Sublime with Rome and in my opinion, this is the happiest I have seen him. Sitting directly side stage sat his parents, this was a hometown show for Ramirez who grew up in Fremont and spent his early teen years going to shows at Shoreline Amphitheater. It was fitting that they played “Light On” after Rome spoke about being grateful for the opportunity to play with Sublime and how dreams come true. The band was later joined on stage by Slightly Stoopid’s Miles Doughty and Kyle McDonald on the song “Cool and Collected”. Speaking of cool and collected, Eric Wilson, the original Sublime bassist, looked cool in his colorful iconic top hat along with a golden pineapple proudly displayed on his keyboard. My favorite song from the night was the performance of The Grateful Dead’s “Scarlet Begonias” where Rome featured a great new verse I had never heard before and also paid tribute to the late great Bradley Nowell. Rest in peace, Bradley. 

At about a quarter to 9 PM, it was time for Slightly Stoopid!

This tour is a full circle moment for Slightly Stoopid who were first discovered and signed by Sublime’s Bradley Nowell before his tragic passing. Stoopid opened their set with Chali 2na who rocketed out to the stage and started the show’s grand finale set with the song “Top of the World”. Next, they played “Officer” and “Good Life”. As usual with any Slightly Stoopid show, Doughty and McDonald took turns doing the lead singing and switching guitar and bass parts. You can always catch them doing their signature “swizzle” switching instruments between songs. Ramirez returned to the stage to accompany the song “2AM” and Chali 2na returned to the stage later as well and performed three songs back to back including, “Everyday People”, “Higher Now” and “Hands High”. Stoopid also played some older hits such as “Somebody”, “Prophet”, “Sweet Honey” and “Closer To The Sun”. For the song “No Cocaine” the guys also brought out Slug of Atmosphere to perform a verse. My favorite stand-out moment from the set was Stoopid’s tribute to Tom Petty with the song “You Don’t Know How It Feels” accompanied along by animated artwork of Tom Petty on the big screens that turned out to be a beautiful tribute to a legend.

All in all this show was one for the books, with good vibes throughout the Summertime tour never disappoints. Do not miss out and end your summer without seeing this show. Clocking in at just about over 5 hours it’s worth every penny!

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